


Solutions and Reactions

by dubfu



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Lab Partners
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-11-28 06:37:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20962115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dubfu/pseuds/dubfu
Summary: Tzuyu isn't the biggest fan of her lab partner, but that doesn't seem to bother Nayeon at all.





	Solutions and Reactions

**Author's Note:**

> My little contribution for the #OncesNeverSleep fic fest hosted by TFG! The quote that I chose is the "You were telling me not to flirt with you because your heart fluttered when you saw me" line that Sana used on Momo during the infamous SaMo v-live. As you can see, I've repurposed it for Natzu. For once, I don't have a song inspo. ): The original one I had was for a draft I ended up scrapping, so... oops!

Biology isn’t the worst lecture course in the world, but Tzuyu feels a great sense of dread when she steps into the lab room for the first time, a week into her first semester.  
  
Her professor explains that he doesn’t like starting with the boring stuff, and so he has made the executive decision to go with a non-linear approach to the recommended curriculum of the course. So, when Tzuyu sees dissections and animal cells as some of the earliest sections in the lab work, she fights the urge to drop the class. It’s a requirement, after all.  
  
“You look like you’re going to hurl.”  
  
Tzuyu blinks when she turns her head to see the girl in the next seat leaning toward her. She’s raising an eyebrow at Tzuyu, as though waiting for her to break and run for the trash bin.  
  
“I’m fine.” Tzuyu doesn’t bother with trying to be convincing, settling for a flat and blunt answer in the vain hope that the girl will leave her alone.  
  
“You don’t look it.” The girl shrugs. “It’s okay if you’re squeamish.”  
  
“I’m not.” Choosing to drown the girl out seems to be the easiest option, and Tzuyu quickly narrows all of her focus on listening to the professor. There isn’t anything too shocking. A particularly long lab once a week, notebooks needed in order to record data, rules on clothing restrictions, and lab rules are points and topics that she tries to keep in mind. However, she feels herself deflate when the professor explains that whoever is seated at one’s table are to be lab partners throughout the remainder of the course.  
  
“Hey!” The girl beside her borderline squeaks in amusement. “Looks like you and I are together!”  
  
Tzuyu feels her arm go rigid when her new lab mate nudges her. She doesn’t respond, opting to focus on writing some of the rules down in her notebook. Her eyebrow twitches when she hears the skidding of the chair beside her, and she can practically feel how close the girl is to her now.  
  
“So, what’s your name?”  
  
“Chou Tzuyu.”  
  
“Well, I’m Im Nayeon. I look forward to working with you.”  
  
Tzuyu spares Nayeon a glance for a moment, noting her bunny teeth that act as the centerpiece of a beaming grin. “You’re very close.”  
  
In her peripheral, she sees Nayeon smirk. “We’ll work well together if we get closer as lab partners.”  
  
“No thanks.”  
  
“You’re a fun one.” There’s a bubbling laugh before Tzuyu feels the gap between her and Nayeon increase.  
  
It doesn’t look promising.  
  


* * *

  
Nayeon is insufferable, Tzuyu decides early on.  
  
“You always make this face,” Nayeon says as she imitates a deadpan expression, though it lasts for only a brief moment before her lips tremble and she breaks out into a laugh. Tzuyu would be offended, if it wasn’t for the fact that there’s a mirror on the lab table whose reflection of her is unfortunately very similar to Nayeon’s reenactment.  
  
She sighs, turning back to the assignment. “And? Is something wrong with my face?”  
  
“Nah.” Nayeon waves a dismissive hand, barely visible in Tzuyu’s peripheral. “It’s perfect the way it is.”  
  
It’s the type of typical Nayeon comment that Tzuyu finds easy to ignore, though she can’t say the same for the specimen on their countertop. The frog on the tray stares at the ceiling with its dead eyes, and Tzuyu frowns before looking back to Nayeon. She blinks when she realizes that the other girl is looking at her expectantly. “What?”  
  
“What about _my_ face?” Nayeon asks, puckering her lips into an embarrassing duck face.  
  
Tzuyu, like previously called out, deadpans. “It’s stupid.”  
  
Nayeon whines, “You have no taste.” She gives Tzuyu a lingering side-eye before returning to the tray, making sure to move on with the dissection while Tzuyu looks away. Nayeon always offers to do this part. “One day you’ll decide that you like me more than you think.”  
  
“No,” Tzuyu responds flatly, writing in their lab notebook.  
  
Today, like most days, Tzuyu still decides that Nayeon is more annoying than anything.  
  


* * *

  
“How’s your Biology class going?” Chaeyoung asks one day while they’re having lunch, tearing Tzuyu’s gaze away from her bowl. “It’s been a month, so labs already started, right?”  
  
“It’s alright.” She shrugs. “I hate when we do labs, though.”  
  
“Labs suck,” Chaeyoung agrees. “Is your professor using frogs or sheep?”  
  
“Frogs.”  
  
“Damn. Frogs are cool.”  
  
Tzuyu sighs. “So are sheep.”  
  
“Yeah.” Chaeyoung frowns. “Do you have a good lab partner at least? I hate mine. He’s _too_ into the dissection stuff, if you know what I mean.”  
  
“My partner is” – Tzuyu pauses to eat a fry – “too much.”  
  
“How so?”  
  
“She,” Tzuyu instinctively rolls her eyes as Nayeon’s face comes to mind, “tries too hard, I think.”  
  
Chaeyoung raises an eyebrow. “At working?”  
  
Tzuyu shrugs. “No. I just feel like she’s trying really hard to talk to me a lot.”  
  
“Tzuyu!” Chaeyoung snorts. “Maybe she just wants to be friends.”  
  
“I just want to focus on the assignment and leave. I don’t like being in the lab; I want it to be done as quickly as possible.” Tzuyu frowns. “I don’t need to procrastinate with talking.”  
  
“That sounds like you.” Chaeyoung shakes her head. “Don’t be mean to her, though.”  
  
Tzuyu’s brow furrows. “You don’t even know her.”  
  
“Yeah, but I know you. Don’t be mean, unless she’s mean first.”  
  
Tzuyu nods but neglects to tell Chaeyoung about the multiple times that she actually has, indeed, been mean first.  
  
Instead, she turns the conversation back onto her friend, asking about her literature course. She’s grateful for the easy change in topic when Chaeyoung mentions a cute girl in her class, and Tzuyu makes sure to ask enough questions so that Chaeyoung can’t bring Nayeon up again.  
  
Tzuyu can make a better effort next week.  
  


* * *

  
“Do I have something on my face?” Nayeon asks when Tzuyu sees her again in lab.  
  
“Huh?” Tzuyu’s smile disappears. “I don’t see anything.”  
  
“Okay.” Nayeon appears amused, donning a subtle smugness that Tzuyu doesn’t entirely enjoy. “You were looking at me weirdly,” she clarifies, opening their shared lab notebook.  
  
“Weirdly?”  
  
“Yeah.” Nayeon smirks, sparing Tzuyu a glance before scribbling down the information about today’s specimen into one of the margins. “You were smiling.”  
  
With Chaeyoung’s conversation in her mind, Tzuyu does her best not to scowl. “I can’t smile?”  
  
“I think you can do whatever you want.”  
  
“That’s not true.”  
  
Nayeon smiles a bit, but she keeps her focus on the paper. “What do you want right now?”  
  
“To not take this class,” Tzuyu answers without missing a beat.  
  
“Really?” Nayeon’s jaw drops, returning her full attention to Tzuyu. “Am I really that bad?”  
  
A small laugh pops out of Tzuyu, perhaps for the first time during all of their lab sessions so far. “Not because of you.”  
  
There’s a visible relief in the way that Nayeon’s shoulders fall as she chuckles, and a small (admittedly cute) smile rests itself upon her features. “It’s hard to tell sometimes.”  
  
It’s easy to guess what Nayeon is referring to, but Tzuyu doesn’t know if she has it in herself at this moment to summon an apology, as overdue as it might be. “It’s just the thought of the animals. I hate thinking about it, and the smell doesn’t help.”  
  
“I can bring in perfume for them if you’d like,” Nayeon jokes, and Tzuyu smacks the girl’s arm lightly. “Ow! I thought first contact would at least be, like, a handshake or something!”  
  
It’s a whine that Tzuyu feels she can tolerate, if only for the fact that Nayeon’s smile isn’t so bad, and she’d hate to ruin it in this moment.  
  


* * *

  
“Why are you taking this course?”  
  
Despite preparing the next cell, Nayeon turns toward Tzuyu. “Graduation requirement. Why else?”  
  
“It’s a first-year course,” Tzuyu states, barely moving as she applies a droplet of a solution onto a glass slide. “Aren’t you a lot older than me?”  
  
Nayeon scoffs. “I’m not that much older!”  
  
“Old enough,” Tzuyu mumbles, a subtle smirk on her face.  
  
“Anyway,” Nayeon huffs as she turns back to the cells she still has left to prepare, “I took some time off to focus on making some money first. I didn’t really want to bother my parents with tuition fees.”  
  
“How thoughtful of you,” Tzuyu says. It’s sincere, though her concentration on placing the slide under the microscope seems to dry out her tone.  
  
Nayeon chuckles softly. “You sound impressed.”  
  
“Sarcasm isn’t a good look on you.” Tzuyu adjusts the focus of the lens, then shifts to the next so that the magnification increases. When there’s no retort from Nayeon, she just barely sighs before adding, “I was being sincere, though. It’s very responsible of you.”  
  
“Yeah, well, I _am_ super responsible.” Nayeon nudges Tzuyu gently, earning a very quick glare for having moved her while looking into the microscope. “Sorry.”  
  
“It’s fine. I think the cells are reacting like the professor said they would.” Tzuyu removes herself from the microscope, sliding it gently toward Nayeon across the countertop.  
  
“Wow,” Nayeon mumbles after looking into the lens. “They really shrunk.”  
  
“All according to plan.” Tzuyu nods as she writes down the results into the notebook, attempting to doodle a version of what she saw on the magnified slide.  
  
It’s a quiet minute that follows, with Nayeon continuing to apply the solution to the cells and Tzuyu writing down their observations. These moments are often Tzuyu’s favorite part of the class. Shockingly, it isn’t due to the silence between them, but rather due to the cohesive work that they manage to do together.  
  
_Nayeon is actually a pretty good student, _Tzuyu thinks as she spares Nayeon a glance from the corner of her eye, watching as the girl’s mouth gawks at the sight of another solution reaction. _She’s not so bad._  
  
“Hey,” Nayeon begins to say, catching Tzuyu’s attention and causing her to blink. Nayeon has an amused smile as she turns to Tzuyu, carefully holding the dropper. “Do you think if I put some on you, you’ll stop being so tall?”  
  
_I stand corrected.  
  
_

* * *

  
“You want to grab some lunch after this?”  
  
Tzuyu blinks. “Excuse me?”  
  
“You know,” Nayeon takes a seat at the lab table, “a meal you put in your mouth at a certain time of the day. It could be a sandwich, or it could be—”  
  
“I get it.”  
  
“Then do you want to grab some?” Nayeon doesn’t make eye contact as she casually opens her bag, and Tzuyu is grateful for that.  
  
“I’m heading home afterward.”  
  
Nayeon seems uncharacteristically serious as she raises an eyebrow at you, looking at Tzuyu from the corner of her eye while she searches for her usual bunny pencil from within her pencil case. “Next week, then?”  
  
The persistence catches Tzuyu off-guard. “Do you need something?”  
  
It cracks Nayeon’s exterior just a bit, the corner of her lip twitching upward. “Food, in my stomach. And you, there while I eat said food.”  
  
“Why do you need me there?”  
  
“Holy shit, Tzuyu.” Nayeon laughs, turning her whole body toward Tzuyu from within the chair. “It’s just an invitation. It’s been, like, two months of working together. Do you hate me that much still?”  
  
“I don’t hate you.” Tzuyu frowns, and Nayeon blinks at the sight.  
  
“H-Hey, wait, I was just kidding. I don’t think you—”  
  
Tzuyu turns and takes out their notebook, opening it and labeling the top margin. “I know I’ve been mean sometimes. You don’t have to pretend like I haven’t.”  
  
There’s a pause before Nayeon speaks up again, “So… that’s a no to lunch?”  
  
Tzuyu’s lips tremble into a small smile, unable to resist. “That’s fine. But I do owe you an apology.”  
  
“Please, nothing bothers me.” Nayeon scoffs, oozing with exaggeration. “I’m an impenetrable force, a goddess even. You’re lucky to breathe the same air I do. In fact, I feel sorry for you more than anything, having to sit there while in my presence… I can’t imagine the shame you must feel every time we meet.”  
  
_That’s more like it. _Tzuyu simply nods along to Nayeon’s words, not really giving her the pleasure of any kind of response. They do have an assignment to do and a lab report to write up, after all.  
  
Once their lab is finished, Tzuyu is the one that gives Nayeon her number first – for planning their lunch in advance, of course.  
  


* * *

  
Tzuyu isn’t a fan of the feeling blossoming in her chest when Nayeon returns in an almost unfairly pretty sundress, make-up freshly done and wearing a smile that is so bright that it causes Tzuyu to squint.  
  
“When you said you had to stop by your dorm first, I thought you just wanted to put your books and bag away.”  
  
Nayeon snorts. “That’s your problem for assuming.”  
  
“Why did you change your entire outfit? It’s not like you got anything on it during lab.”  
  
“I wanted to dress my best for a gorgeous woman such as yourself,” Nayeon answers with a smirk, puckering her lips a little.  
  
“Don’t flirt with me.” Tzuyu deadpans, causing Nayeon to deflate into a whine as they enter the small campus café. They get in line, and Tzuyu briefly considers getting Nayeon to go away by asking her to find a seat.  
  
“Where’s the fun in that?” Nayeon rolls her eyes, crossing her arms across her floral dress. “What kind of date is this?”  
  
Tzuyu feels a sweltering heat upon her face. “Excuse me?”  
  
“You’re too easy,” says Nayeon, giggling.  
  
“That’s the point. I’m not.” Tzuyu raises an eyebrow. “You’d have to go through the effort of asking my father.”  
  
“… For permission?”  
  
Tzuyu’s gaze doesn’t waver. “Yeah.”  
  
Nayeon blinks, seemingly unsure what to say until Tzuyu begins giggling. “What?”  
  
“I’m joking.” Tzuyu’s smile is small, but it’s satisfied and proud after a successful trick. “Don’t call me easy to tease.” She ignores the way that her heartrate increases when it dawns on her that Nayeon had been wearing a soft smile on her face during the entire time Tzuyu had been giggling.  
  
Nayeon’s sudden smirk, however, is annoying. “So, was the implication that I could take you out on a date part of the joke? Or just the permission part?”  
  
“I think you’d need permission of some kind either way.” Tzuyu wants to avoid the question.  
  
“Then do I have permission to call this a date?”  
  
“No.”  
  
Nayeon pouts, and Tzuyu looks away. “Why not?”  
  
“It wasn’t agreed on beforehand.”  
  
“Is that the only reason?” Nayeon laughs, and Tzuyu is grateful that it’s their turn at the register so that she doesn’t have to give any kind of response. She hears Nayeon mumble an amused, “You’re ridiculous, Tzuyu,” before ordering for herself, and Tzuyu follows suit.  
  
They’re taking their seats at a booth when Tzuyu says, “I’m not ridiculous, by the way.”  
  
“Oh, you aren’t?” Nayeon takes a sip from her bubble tea.  
  
“Yeah.” Tzuyu cuts into her pastry, picking it up with a fork and eating it. Nayeon simply stares at her, so Tzuyu eventually adds, “You’re the ridiculous one.”  
  
Nayeon is smug again. “I think I’m extraordinary, really.”  
  
“Okay, extraordinary but ridiculous.”  
  
“Aw, that’s so sweet of you.” Nayeon fans herself, acting as though there are tears in her eyes. “It’s really special when I hear that sort of thing from my biggest fan.”  
  
Tzuyu ignores the urge to smile. “Bold assumption.”  
  
“What ever happened to the feeling bad for being mean thing? Where’d that go, huh?”  
  
“You said you were, in your own words, an impenetrable force.” Tzuyu snickers.  
  
“Ah, so this is banter now?” Nayeon smirks. “Interesting method of flirting.”  
  
“I’m not flirting.” Tzuyu’s eyebrows knit together. “In fact, I said don’t flirt with me.”  
  
Nayeon waves a dismissive hand. “Please. You were just telling me not to flirt with you because your heart fluttered when you saw me coming back in my awesome outfit. You can let your pride down for two seconds, I think.”  
  
Tzuyu grimaces, returning to her food.  
  
“Silence is a form of acceptance, you know.”  
  
Tzuyu all but chokes on her pastry then, and Nayeon bursts into a fit of laughter.  
  
Nayeon is very lucky that she looks stunning today.  
  


* * *

  
“She what?!”  
  
“Lower your voice.” Tzuyu raises a finger to her lip, signaling for Chaeyoung to be quiet. “We’re in the library.”  
  
Chaeyoung smiles sheepishly, ducking her head behind the book that she’s reading. “Right, sorry. But she talked about wanting to date you? Are you sure this is the same girl you told me about a few months ago?”  
  
“It’s weird, right?”  
  
“I don’t think so. You’re a beautiful girl, and I’m sure she’s been looking past the cool exterior that you’ve been showing her.”  
  
Tzuyu raises an eyebrow. “How would you know?”  
  
“Firstly, you being beautiful is simply a universal fact. Secondly, you haven’t complained about her in a long time so I can only guess that you two have been getting along.”  
  
It isn’t exactly wrong. After their first lunch, they had kept it up for the following couple of weeks. Nayeon is playful, Tzuyu sometimes bites back, and it’s usually a pleasant experience, as much as Tzuyu may not want to admit it directly to Nayeon. She hopes the mere gesture of continuing to go out to lunch with her is enough to express it without needing to embarrass herself by doing it through words.  
  
Nayeon has been continuously flirty throughout, and Tzuyu has become increasingly aware of how attractive Nayeon is when not surrounded by microscopes, dead specimens, and laboratory tools. It isn’t that Nayeon is any less attractive in that setting, but Tzuyu finds the atmosphere to be a little inappropriate, and she remains adamant on getting her work done as quickly as possible. It’s not like there’s any reason to stall when she ends up seeing Nayeon for lunch afterward anyway.  
  
And while Nayeon’s mannerisms are just as loud and vaguely bothersome as they’ve always been, they have grown on Tzuyu. And through their brief moments of passing one another on campus and their lunch plans, there’s a certain level of charm to Nayeon’s occasional gentleness and consideration. It had only occurred to Tzuyu in the past few days that Nayeon likely volunteered to do all the dissections after seeing how queasy Tzuyu seemed on the first day, for example.  
  
Nayeon has a good heart, Tzuyu knows. At least, it’s a much better heart than she allowed herself to believe in those early weeks.  
  
“We should do a double date,” Chaeyoung suggests.  
  
Tzuyu blinks. “Double? Is it that girl from your literature course?”  
  
Chaeyoung sticks her tongue out. “Guess you’ll have to find out!” She giggles when Tzuyu shakes her head at her, rolling her crescent eyes.  
  
Tzuyu briefly wonders if her desire to meet Chaeyoung’s classmate crush is enough to outweigh a desire to go out on any form of a real date with Nayeon. But, if she’s being honest with herself, she already knows the answer.  
  


* * *

  
“It’s so wonderful of you to offer to pay.”  
  
Tzuyu deadpans as she holds the door open for Nayeon. “I didn’t say that.”  
  
“Paying for me _and_ holding the door?” Nayeon pretends to wipe away a tear. “You really are a gentlem—ow!” She frowns, rubbing her rear after Tzuyu closed the door slightly too early.  
  
“Sorry,” says Tzuyu with a shrug.  
  
“You’re a bad liar.”  
  
Tzuyu smiles. “Then don’t be a bad date.”  
  
“Huh.” Nayeon raises an eyebrow, lightly rubbing her chin. “I guess a beautiful girl like you deserves a good date.”  
  
Despite a subtle blush on her cheeks, Tzuyu ignores the compliment. “I think Chaeyoung said she and her date would be near the— ah, wait I see them.”  
  
Nayeon snakes her arm around Tzuyu’s and, although it makes her tense up, Tzuyu manages to walk normally as she heads toward the table near the back of the restaurant.  
  
“Seriously, you look really pretty, Tzuyu,” Nayeon whispers in a semi-low voice, leaning into Tzuyu’s side as she speaks. Her hold on Tzuyu’s arm tightens a little more, but it remains gentle. “I’m glad you asked me out.”  
  
Tzuyu is only able to nod at first, overwhelmed by the beating of her heart and the warmth on her face. However, after a shaky gulp, she manages to get out a soft, “I think you look really pretty, too,” just before they reach the table.  
  
Chaeyoung practically glows when Tzuyu reaches the table, although Tzuyu knows it’s purely out of the excitement of getting to meet Nayeon. But her attention switches to the girl sitting right beside Chaeyoung. She’s slightly on the shorter side as well, and Tzuyu tries her best to commit the face to memory as soon as she can.  
  
“You must be Tzuyu!” The girl greets, standing up in order to offer Tzuyu her hand. “I’m Dahyun.”  
  
_Dahyun_, Tzuyu notes as she reaches out to shake Dahyun’s hand. “Hello, Dahyun. This is” – she pauses, glancing at Nayeon who seems very amused by her hesitance already – “my date, Nayeon.” There’s no point in pretending otherwise for the sake of shyness, and Nayeon deserves better than that anyway.  
  
“Hey,” Nayeon greets, shaking Dahyun’s enthusiastic hand once it reaches her. “And you’re Chaeyoung, right?”  
  
Tzuyu watches as Chaeyoung grins, trying to reach past Dahyun for a handshake as well. “Yes! Nice to finally meet you, Nayeon.”  
  
“’Finally,’ huh?” Nayeon mocks into Tzuyu’s ear just before they take their seats.  
  
All Tzuyu can really do is shake her head and fight the urge to kick Chaeyoung’s foot beneath the table.  
  
It's a few minutes into generic introductions when Dahyun suddenly comments, “Nayeon you have such a great smile!”  
  
Nayeon seems to light up at that. “Really? Thanks! I try to brush my teeth twice a day, every day, so what can I say?”  
  
“It’s your cute front teeth,” Tzuyu mumbles.  
  
“What’d you say?”  
  
Tzuyu clears her throat first. “I said it’s because of your cute front teeth. It’s like a bunny.”  
  
Nayeon grins at that, and it looks so sincere that Tzuyu feels the instinctive need to look at her menu all of a sudden. There are so many choices, and all of them feel so tempting right now in the wake of a gorgeous girl in a red dress smiling at her like there’s more to her than she’ll ever know. _An appetizer sounds really nice._  
  
“Tzuyu _does_ love animals.” Chaeyoung giggles when Tzuyu shoots her a look.  
  
“Well, if Tzuyu says I’m cute, then who am I to disagree?” Nayeon laughs, and both Chaeyoung and Dahyun join in on it. Tzuyu can only manage to smile sheepishly, trying to actually pick something to eat before the waiter inevitably comes.  
  
The double date goes fairly well for the rest of the time, if Tzuyu is being honest. The food is pretty good, and the company is even better. She almost wants to thank Chaeyoung for suggesting this in the first place. But by the way Chaeyoung keeps nudging her and shooting her secretive thumbs up, she knows that she doesn’t need to. Chaeyoung knows very well when she’s done a good job.  
  
Dahyun is as nice as Chaeyoung had been alluding to for the last few months. She’s polite and very kind, which are major criteria in Tzuyu’s book of what Chaeyoung deserves at a bare minimum level. It helps that she is funny, in an almost goofy way, and perhaps that’s why she and Nayeon seem to get along pretty well on their own whenever Chaeyoung and Tzuyu have a momentary conversation on the side. Tzuyu ignores the thoughts in her head whenever Nayeon guffaws at something Dahyun says.  
  
Nayeon seems to thrive when socializing. She’s brighter somehow, and she’s really good at making conversation. Tzuyu had always considered her to be good, seeing as she can get Tzuyu to talk much at all, but Tzuyu is beginning to realize that Nayeon’s good even when other people are much more talkative compared to herself. Nayeon matches their pace, and her energy is infectious in such a way that Tzuyu can’t help smiling a little more widely from time to time during conversation. The way that Nayeon carries herself is something to be admired, Tzuyu thinks, and she can’t help but sneak glances whenever she can. Nayeon catches every single one, and Tzuyu would be lying if she said that she doesn’t melt at the bashful smile that Nayeon gives her every time.  
  
Tzuyu ends up paying for Nayeon anyway.  
  
“You shouldn’t have done that,” says a pouting Nayeon once they’ve waved goodbye to Chaeyoung and Dahyun.  
  
“What did I do?” Tzuyu feigns ignorance, making sure to look anywhere else other than her date.  
  
Nayeon’s weight leans further into Tzuyu. “I was joking about paying for me. Please tell me you know the difference between me teasing and me being serious!”  
  
“Maybe.” Tzuyu shrugs, making the mistake of looking down at Nayeon’s glistening eyes. As much as she tries to resist, she snorts and breaks into a soft laugh. “I’m sorry. I do! I just decided at the last second that I wanted to pay for you.”  
  
Nayeon huffs. “I’m glad I’m driving, at least. It’ll be some way of paying you back.”  
  
“After the semester you’ve put me through, you owe me a lot more than a taxi.”  
  
“What do you mean?!” Nayeon whines. “I’m a great lab partner!”  
  
Tzuyu smiles. “You’re right.”  
  
“Oh.” Nayeon blinks. “Gave up quick on that one, okay. Fine, let’s head back to my car.”  
  
Tzuyu’s heart drums in her ear when she feels Nayeon’s hand slide its way into her own, and she gives it a gentle squeeze that Nayeon doesn’t hesitate to return. Despite the chill of the night, Tzuyu thinks that this is the warmest that she’s felt all week.  
  
The car ride back to campus isn’t unlike the car ride that they had experienced on the way to the restaurant. Tzuyu enjoys listening to the music that Nayeon has on her playlist, and she lets Nayeon direct the flow of conversation, occasionally replying to specific questions or asking questions of her own every minute or so. It’s light and it’s smooth and, as Tzuyu looks down at their hands tangled between their car seats, she struggles to think about what she would be doing right now if Nayeon hadn’t ended up as her lab partner.  
  
Nayeon could make a good partner in many ways, she thinks.  
  
Getting out of the car manages to be the only hinderance in their handholding, because they continue to do so on the walk back to the dorms. They don’t live in the same building, and Tzuyu’s is closest to the parking lot. Nayeon quiets down a bit as they walk, but her grasp remains tight and comforting all the way to the front door of the building.  
  
“Was I a good date?” Nayeon cheekily asks once they’ve stopped outside the main entrance.  
  
Tzuyu pretends to think about it. “You were okay.”  
  
“Excuse me?” Nayeon gapes, pretending to be offended. “I won the hearts of two other girls at our table while _they_ were on their own date! I think I’m more than okay.”  
  
“You sure did laugh and smile a lot with Dahyun.”  
  
Nayeon smirks. “Are you, by chance, jealous?”  
  
Tzuyu furrows her brow. “No.”  
  
“There’s nothing to be jealous about, beautiful!” Nayeon lifts their hands between them. “Dahyun isn’t getting this full package like you are!”  
  
“Full package?” Tzuyu chuckles.  
  
“It comes with a driver, a hand to hold, and,” her voice softens a bit, “lips to kiss.”  
  
“R-Really?” Tzuyu blushes. “On the first date?”  
  
Nayeon looks concerned. “Too much?”  
  
“No, I just…”  
  
“How about half?”  
  
“Half?”  
  
Nayeon’s chuckle is low and soft. “I’d have to show you. Can you handle that? You can say no.”  
  
“Okay,” Tzuyu answers quietly. “Half.”  
  
“Alright then. But you’ll have to close your eyes, Tzuyu.” Tzuyu can feel the goosebumps on her arms at the way that Nayeon’s voice lowers toward the end, and she gulps before her eyes flutter shut.  
  
She feels Nayeon’s free hand caress her cheek after a moment. It’s a slow, rhythmic motion, and her hands are soft, with one cupping Tzuyu’s face and the other still in Tzuyu’s hand, thumbs rubbing the back of her hand and the bone of her cheek.  
  
There’s a pressure that she feels suddenly at the very end of her mouth, and it’s hard not to notice the pleasant warmth of Nayeon’s breath against her. Tzuyu doesn’t move, too preoccupied by the heat coursing through her as well as the pleasant burning sensation on the corner of her lips. She wants to reciprocate, but her nerves freeze her somehow, despite the heat. She does manage to smile, however, and she can hear a breathless giggle from Nayeon as the girl pulls away.  
  
“See? Half. Just barely there on the mouth. I wouldn’t want to overwhelm you with the ambrosia that is my mouth.”  
  
Tzuyu opens her eyes, tightening her hold on Nayeon’s hand and ignoring her joke. “It was nice.” She knows it’s an understatement. “Thank you.”  
  
“No problem,” Nayeon mumbles sheepishly, just as Tzuyu leans in and gives her a kiss on the forehead.  
  
“That’s mine, if that’s okay.”  
  
Nayeon grins bashfully. “More than okay. Keep them coming, even.”  
  
“Next time.”  
  
“Oh, so you want a next time, huh?”  
  
“Of course.” Tzuyu smiles. “You are my partner, after all.”

**Author's Note:**

> I had a lot of trouble finishing up an idea for the fic fest, but I knew that I wanted to participate. This was the first thing I wrote that actually finished itself, and so here we are! Not the proudest I've been nor is it the most confident that I've been in something, but at this point I'm honestly just relieved that I was able to complete it in time. 
> 
> Thank you so much for taking the time to read my work!
> 
> Feel free to hit me up on:  
Twitter: [@heartshooketh](https://twitter.com/heartshooketh)  
CuriousCat: [@dubfu](https://curiouscat.me/dubfu)


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